Before Valentine’s Day

On January 29, 2010 by Connie Veneracion

The last time Speedy did any drilling in the house, we were installing blinds for the first time. That was two weeks after we moved. A year and a half ago. He was using a borrowed electric drill and he really didn’t like it. He complained so much that, months later, when I decided to take down the blinds in the living and dining areas to replace them with curtains, I hired someone to drill holes for the curtain rods. It wasn’t a good idea installing cheap made-in-China bamboo blinds to start with. But we didn’t know that back then, did we? Lesson learned: sometimes, cheap really means bad quality.

Now, it’s time to replace the blinds in my office and, just like what I did downstairs, I’m putting up curtains instead. I’ve bought the fabrics, I’m bringing them to the curtain-maker soon, but before they can be put up, a lot of work needs to be done in my office. I had removed all the cabinets and book shelves as they were a constant reminder of how cheated I felt because I paid for solid wood furniture but got cabinets made with plyboard instead. I bought a solid wood table, a long one, but I still needed book shelves. To cut a long story short, I opted for DIY shelving system (metal frames and brackets, made in Germany, so I’m confident about the quality). But DIY means, well, it means Speedy has to do the work. I don’t DIY. Not with cabinets anyway.

To sweeten the deal, I bought him a brand new electric drill. Bosch. A nice Bosch electric drill. And I bought it before I bought the curtain fabrics and before I bought the DIY shelving system. It’s psychological, you know. I bought him an electric drill but what would he do with it if there’s nothing to install? So, after a few days, when he was gigil na gigil to use the drill, I bought the curtains fabrics. And the shelving system. Naturally, by that time, he was excited to put them up so he could use his new electric drill.

Two days ago, I asked Speedy when he would have time to put up the shelves.

“Friday,” he said.

“Meaning, everything would be finished on Friday?” I had to ask.

“Well, a lot of measuring has to be done… and that takes time… you don’t want the shelves to be lop-sided, do you?”

Oh-oh. That kind of answer made me nervous. It meant he would start working on the shelves by Friday but he wouldn’t commit when he would be able to finish everything.

I asid, “So will everything be finished before Valentine’s Day?”

“Yes!”

I pressed on. “Before the end of the month?”

He paused. Two days ago was January 27 and four days ’till the end of the month.

“Before Valentine’s Day,” he said.

Well then, before Valentine’s Day.

Then, this morning, Friday morning, the morning of the day he promised to start working on the shelves, I heard him tearing the packaging of the darn shelves. Then, he came up to my office and started measuring the wall. Wohoo! I said to myself. And he started drilling the wall. Okay, I was trying to do some writing when he started drilling, the noise was deafening but, hey, he was installing my shelves, why should I complain? I gave up trying to work and took photos instead.

When he needed assistance moving the furniture, I helped him. In short, I was cooperative and he was happily working away — happy to be finally using his electric drill. What is it about men and tools, anyway? While he was working, he was telling me that he had been wanting to buy so many tools but couldn’t think of what he would use them for so he restrained himself. And I thought, GOOD!

Before lunch time, he was done. The shelves were up (I’ll take photos of the redone office when the new curtains are up) and Speedy proudly said, “See? All finished before Valentine’s Day.” Told you, he was too excited to use the electric drill. My professor in Psychology 101 would be proud.

Did he clean up the mess afterward — the fine dust from the concrete wall that he drilled? Of course not. I cleaned up. But, hey, I’m not complaining. In fact, I prepared a wonderful lunch. Diet-friendly Goat cheese and tomato salad — my way of saying thank you. Tomorrow, I’ll attend to the curtains. When they are done, and that shouldn’t take more than a week, Speedy can get his thrills using his new electric drill again. He’ll have to drill more holes to put up the curtain rods, you know.

hi ms.connie! i chanced upon your website while browsing. I’m enjoying your house and photography posts! :) if it’snot too much to ask, where are you living in antipolo? just curious, coz i recently bought a tiny house and lot in one of the subd near shop wise, baka neighbors pala tayo.:)

You are so funny!!! But it is one of the few things that men can’t live without. It does not necessarily mean that things get fixed.

“Hoarders”.

I saw the show and it was horrible, right? Filipinos does that too. My son attended a birthday party but called us for pickup before an hour lapsed. He was having nightmares with all the piled stuffs and boxes barely a space to walk-on in his friend’s house.

I think it has to do growing-up-without psychologically to the extreme. I mean not having stuffs because one cannot afford before, and then later keep on accumulating stuffs that the person barely use at all.